Last



July 31, 1928.

G. B. F ITZ LAST Filed May 14, 1925 Patented July 31, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

GUY B. FITZ, OF AUBURN, MAINE, ASSIGNOR T0 FITZ-EMPIRE DOUBLE PIVOT LAST COMPANY, OF AUBURN, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

LAST.

Application filed'May 14 1925. Serial No. 30,209.

This invention relates to shoe lasts and is illustrated as embodied in a last of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 7 84,149, granted March 7, 1905, on application of A. G. Fitz.

In the manufacture of certain types of shoes, of which strap sandals furnish a'good .example, it is necessary that the lasts usedbe of the type having what is termeda full cone; that is, that the upper .front surface of thecone of each last extend from the ball to a pointat or beyond where the instep portion of the shoe upper rises substantially vertically, or, in the case of shoes such as strap sandals, to a point beyond Where the strap of a sandal on the last engages the block of a block last large enough toinsure against straining or tearing shoe uppers when the last is removed unless the block is made so large as to weaken the body part of the last too much. Consequently, hinge lasts, which maybe shortened sufliciently to provide for removal from the shoes without damagingthe shoe uppers, have come into extensive use. The relative swmging move ment of the foreparts and heel parts neces sary to collapse the practical forms of hinge lasts requires, however, that there be a substantial space between these parts, and as such lasts have heretofore been constructed, this space has been provided as a V-shaped notch so located as to shorten the upper front surface of the last as compared with a full cone last. The result has been that it has been difficult in the use of such lasts to afford the proper support for various types of straping the strap down into the notch and tackmg it there, but this often crushes or other- 'wise damages the strap and sometimes pulls the upper out of shape. When this expedient is not resorted to, there is liability that the strap will slip into the notch, particularly when the upper is under tension in the lasting operation, thus relaxing the lasting tension and preventing proper lasting.

It has been proposed heretofore to make hinge shoe forms with continuous full cones, the forepart being cut away and the upper front portion of theheel part being arranged to be moved into the cut-away portion ofthe forepart to collapse the forms, but such articles, while adequate as forms, were not'intended and have not been adapted for use as shoe lasts because the pivots of the hinges or bonding mechanisms between the foreparts and heel parts were,

placed so high as to cause the forms to lengthen substantially before they began to shorten. Consequently, the lower rear end portions of the forms were cut away in order to permit removal of the forms from the shoes. Moreover, it is not practicable to lower the pivot of such a construction sufficlently to permit the use of a full-sized form such as might be adapted for use as a last Without cutting away so much wood to provide for the collapsing movement as to weaken the structure excessively.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a practical last of full shape and strong enough to resist adequately the stresses of' machine shoemaking which will be so constructed and arranged as to afford propersupport, for example, for the'straps of strap sandals and which will have all the advantages of hinge lasts as heretofore constructed.

To this end, the invention provides a novel hinge last having a full cone presenting a substantially continuoussurface along the upper front portion of the cone from the ball rearwardly considerably beyond the cut bet-ween the forepart and the heel part when the last is extended, the heel part and forepart being relatively shaped to have the upper portion of one brought into overlapping relation to the upper portion of the other, thereby collapsing the last sufliciently to insure ready removal from the shoe withtour of a shoe on the last when the last is.

collapsed. By this construction and arrangement there is provided a full-cone hinge last which is constructed and arpart and heel part being reduced to aminiranged to be collapsed suliic-iently for ready removal from shoes without sacrifice of last strength, the amount of wood removed to form the necessary space between the foremum, and the forepart and heel part are relatively shaped to provide the necessary space between them without interrupting the continuity of the upper front surface of the cone when the last is extended.

These and other features of the-invention, comprising certain combinations and arrangement-s of parts, will be understood from the following description of apreferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown'in the accompanying. drawings, in which, Fig. 1 is a longitudinalcross the last, and. I V

Fig. 2 shows the last with a strap sandal on it. I

The illustrated. last comprises a forepart Aand a heel part B connected by a hinge bonding mechanism substantially like that section of .of the last shown in the United States LettersPatent above referred to. Theforepart A and heel part B, which are so shaped as to provide a full cone, as above described, are separated upona line which cuts across this cone at a considerable distance from its upper end and runs at an angle of roughly downwardly and backwardly from the upper instep portion of the last to a point about three-quarters of theway through the I last, as indicated by the numeral 10. Itthen extends backwardly generally horizontally for a short distance, as indicated by the nu meral 12, to provide a shelf forholding the last parts positively in alinementand then -runs downwardly and a little backwardly as indicated by the numeral 14, to the lower surface of the last. The heel part is cut away from a point 16 on the cut 10 about half or two-thirds way through the last, upon a surface 18 which is intersected by a surface 20 overhanging the surface 18, which runs out and intersects the front of the. instep of the last at the beginning of the cut 10. The two planes 18 and 20 form a recess in the front face of the heel part. The heel part and forepart are connected by pivoted links 22, 24 mounted on pins in the heel part and forepart as shown in the. Letters Patent referred to and the upper link has a projection 26 engaging a spring 28 to hold the last parts resiliently in extended position as likewise shown in that patent.

Fig. 1 shows in-dotted lines the position of the last parts in collapse. When in this position the heel part swings upwardly and forwardly until the surface 18 abuts against the surface 10, the deepest point of the recess formed by the intersection of the sur-' faces 18 and 20 being arranged to come at the forward end of the surface 10, and the overhanging portion of theheel part moving forwardbeyond the outline of the shoe.

It will thus be seen that when the last is extended the front upper surface of the cone of the last is continuous from the-ball back beyond the out between the forepart] and heel part to the point 30, and indeed,

thepoint can beplaoed as far to the rear as is des1red, since all ofthe'po-rtions'of the last that are concerned in the collapsing movement lie well below it. taken from the last as shown is represented.

The T wood r bythe outline formed by the lines1018 20.. The angle between'the planes .10 and 18is substantially the angle throughwhich the heel part swin s on the forepart inicoli-f lapse, and these-panes are so located that they come substantially into coincidence when the last is'collapsed. The line 20 represents substantially the movement of the endpoint of the cut 10 on the forepart, relatively to the heel part Thusthere'is no substantial aperture in the front of the cone atthe cut to catch'or pinch the upper of a shoe and the wood taken from the last 'is reduced to a minimum amount and is much less than is required in a'construction, for

example, where the heel part collapses into the forepart, since with the present construction no room has to be provided anywhere the last to receive the overhanging portion of the heel part in collapse.

The advantages of the last be evident from a consideration of Fig.2"which shows. one type of strap sandal in position on the last. The 'sandal'shown is that type in which an instep strap 32 runs around the foot and engages a strap 34: running down the front of the shoeinto the vamp. The strap 30 is. here so high that the ordinary hinge last would provide no support for it at all, and it wouldhave to' be leftloose or else pulled down into the V out between the last parts, with liability to damage and also to distortion of the upper. The strap 34 would get no. support at all with such a last, and indeed, has heretofore been simply doubled down under the vamp and neglected, thelasting of the waist portion of the shoe suffering accordingly. i

The last of the present invention avoids all such difliculties, and provides a strong hinge last supporting any type of shoe upper at all points as adequately as a solid last could do.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is A hinge last comprising a heel part and a forepart relatively constructed and arranged to provide a full cone having a substantially continuous surface along the front upper portion of the last from the ball to the tip of the cone when the last is extended, the upper rear face of the forepart being in a plane intersecting said continuous surface and the. upper front face of the heel part being in two intersecting planes formother, each pivoted in both last parts, and constructed and arranged to effect relative movement of the heel part and the forepart, so arranged as to bring the upper rear face of the forepart substantially into the lower of the planes forming the recess while the upper reared e of the forepart is substantia ly grazed y the portion of the front surface of the heel part in the upper of the two planes forming the recess.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GUY B. FITZ. 

